Whale Memorial

WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE

About The Whale Memorial Dance:

THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE is an interactive multimedia performance piece that includes spoken word, music, film, and improvisational song and movement. The form is inspired by Gillian Kapteyn Comstock’s (Metta Earth Institute) Quantum Community Project.

"Between 1920 and 1970, two million whales

were killed…nearly half of the females killed

have carried an unborn whale."

- Faith McNulty, The Great Whales

A dance of the shadow, THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE remembers the compassion that may ensure survival in light of social neglect, cultural difference, misunderstanding, and brutal competition. THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE is ideal for multiple-day gatherings and conferences where performers and participating community members can reflect and engage in restorative justice dialogue.

The moving parts include live reading of true stories and a 10-minute film with live improvisational dance. The full production has not been recorded and the film portion doesn’t stand alone, but is available for preview. Please be in touch to discuss hosting a performance and/or workshop of THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE.

History of The Whale Memorial Dance:

THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE was produced as part of my graduate work in environmental and grief studies with attention to the human emotional and spiritual response to mass species extinction and genocide.

THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE debuted in 2007 at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, Montana. In 2008, Culture and Animals Foundation (CAF) granted funds to support performances and promotion of THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE. CAF funds supported two performances: an April 2008 performance at Indiana University Bloomington presented in conjunction with a lecture from Dr. Lori Marino on cetacean intelligence and sentience, and an April 2011 performance during Naropa University’s Earth Day celebration.

Motivation to promote THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE online led to the conception of EXTINCTION WITNESS (December 2011) . THE WHALE MEMORIAL DANCE was accepted for presentation at the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture’s 2010 annual conference in Perth, Australia and for workshop presentation to the International Ecopsychology Society Conference in Uruguay September 2017. The invitations were declined due to insufficient travel funds.